THAILAND

Elephants in
Thailand were recently treated to a jumbo feast at the
Elephant Conservation Centre in Lampang, 535 km
north of Bangkok. It was an
elephantine version of the
Thai tradition of Thai khan
toke, a meal at which diners
share food from a common
bowl. They gorged on more
than 500 kg of sugarcane,
pineapples, bamboo leaves
and bananas. The 'elephant
feeding fair' was held to
highlight the plight of Thai
elephants. The elephant in
Thailand is a national icon
and the royal emblem. But
poaching has led to a
decrease in their population.
The number of domesticated
elephants in Thailand at the
turn of the century was
100,000, while countless
others wandered in the wild.
Currently, there are about
2,000 wild and 5,000 domesticated ones, and their numbers are decreasing at the rate
of two to five per cent a year.